Observations on politics, news, culture and humor

Our enemy the state

I was pleased to see two stories I heard addressed last week on Free Talk Live covered in more depth this weekend by journalists. Though I am pleased to see these stories get coverage, I would be infinitely more pleased if they had never happened and didn’t need to be covered. Both exemplify horrifying abuses of state power at its worst.

Even if this raid had resulted in drugs being found, it still wouldn’t be right. Cops don’t have the right to kick your door down with guns drawn to keep sovereign adults from consenting to buy, sell and use substances arbitrarily defined as illegal. Adults should have the right to control what goes in their bodies–even if it’s something suicidal like hemlock. When are we going to stop supporting the persecution to the point of death of these victimless “criminals?”

People need to realize that the state is not on our side. The state is not “of the people.” At this point in our country’s history, the state is a self-reinforcing monstrosity of illiberalism and opacity, within which the various levels, layers and organizations collaborate with each other and against us. Plenty of people get into state service for the “right” reasons, but they quickly become active or passive adherents to the gospel of aggression that keeps them attached to the taxpayer teat. They feel perfectly comfortable looking after their interests embodied in the state, so why should we people kept under the state jackboot feel uncomfortable asserting our opposition to them and refusing to collaborate in our own mistreatment?

6 Responses

Both stories call to mind why I think prosecutors are tremendous douches. Prosecute citizens for non-crimes and look the other way when state workers commit felonies. Prosecutors across the country are now arguing that videotaping police officers in public violates wiretapping laws if you don’t have the cop’s permission, but apparently state agents can secretly watch minors undress on webcam.

M: Taking things to their logical extreme often leads to unworkable results. I could probably be convinced that the legalization of marijuana would not lead to the end of western civilization.

It is also pretty safe to assume, however, that a predictable percentage of users would become abusers; that a certain portion would cause automobile accidents, workplace injuries, etc.; and that a certain portion would become completely unproductive citizens barely- or unable to function and care for themselves. This is not to say that we could nevertheless conclude, a la alcohol, that we are willing to live with those costs.

At the end of the day, however, we live in the real world. We will be paying the costs of dealing with those people, through Medicare, Medicaid, SSD, unemployment, workers’ compensation, etc. Whether you agree with any or all of those programs, the fact of the matter is that they are not going anywhere anytime soon. While a pure libertarian philosophy might think that people should be allowed to put whatever they want into their bodies, then deal with the consequences on their own, that’s not a realistic approach. At some level, we, as a society, will act as the safety net for people who make poor life choices.

I would liken it to casinos. We know that most people can go to the casino every so often and gamble with discretionary income, for fun. We also know, however, that a predictable percentage of those people will gamble habitually with money they cannot afford to lose, and end up losing the rent money, etc. Then what? Does this mean that casinos should be illegal? Of course not. But we should be aware of what we know the societal costs will be.

Joe,
The photography and recording issues are battles at the frontline of fundamental rights in this country. It’s amazing to see Maryland charging a man with a felony for recording a plainclothes police officer who pulled him over on his motorcycle helmet cam. That’s the one that springs most to mind. Make sure you check out Carlos Miller’s blog Photography is Not a Crime, linked to in my “Websites” tab. That’s the single best clearinghouse for those two issues.

Tom Paine,
Your argument is frustrating because you are aware of how fallacious it is and even acknowledge it, yet you still plow forward. To assume that we are stuck with the healthcare system we have is to concede defeat. To assume that we need to bend our rights and liberties to fit within what you acknowledge to be a flawed construct is even worse.

That’s just on a philosophical level. On a pragmatic level, if that’s where you would like to treat the issue, marijuana is by almost any measure a safer and less harmful drug than alcohol. If we are willing to live with the costs of alcohol, then we should also be willing to live with the costs of marijuana. Don’t forget that the costs of legalizing marijuana would also have to be weighed against the benefits of ending the drug war that is killing people by the thousand in Mexico and America, too. And please don’t even think of mentioning the phrase “gateway drug” unless it’s part of a punchline.

M: Think of it as continuous improvement. You don’t go from 0 straight to 60 all at once. Just as the American people have slowly been hooked on the crack cocaine of “entitlement” programs, things must gradually be returned to the limits of what the Constitution permits (see, I even used a drug analogy for you). This will not, and cannot, happen overnight. It may never happen, because to do so will require people to think beyond their own selfish interests. We also now have a situation where those receiving the most from government pay little or nothing in the way of taxes–what are the chances of those folks voting for candidates who will cut programs. Not to mention government bureacracies, unions, and others with a vested interest in maintaining/expanding the nanny state. It takes time to turn around an aircraft carrier.

And to Joe’s comment, and more generally comments and posts like it: let’s not get carried away with the generalizations. “All” prosecutors are not out prosecuting the citizenry in an effort to cover up police misconduct. Just as all police are not busting down the doors of innocent 92 year old women, shooting them 42 times and then planting evidence. Just as not all military personnel are recklessly killing innocent civilians. Be careful of extrapolating from the anecdotal/specific to making blanket assumptions. The vast majority of prosecutors, police and military personnel are good and honorable people doing a job to the best of their ability. All 3 roles involve discretion. This means mistakes can, and at times will, be made. Do not lose sight of the forest for the trees, though. When someone’s breaking into your house in the middle of the night, nobody calls a blogger to come put their life at risk to save them.

Fort every lawyer out there who I find repulsive there is one on the other side of the aisle standing in opposition. I don’t make generalizations like that in earnest, M knows who I am and knows I am sarcastic and exaggerate things. I didn’t expect you to pick it up and try to run with it as some sort of intellectual parlor trick on my part to strengthen your own side while impugning my judgment. I wish you would choose a screen name more worthy of your posts.

[…] Our enemy the state (via The Country Estate) Posted on August 24, 2010 by Orwell's Dreams I was pleased to see two stories I heard addressed last week on Free Talk Live covered in more depth this weekend by journalists. Though I am pleased to see these stories get coverage, I would be infinitely more pleased if they had never happened and didn't need to be covered. Both exemplify horrifying abuses of state power at its worst. The first is far more serious–the awful case of Kathryn Johnston, the 92-year-old Atlanta woman killed in her … Read More […]